Ruger or Savage?

New Hide Member

Buying first bolt gun in .308 and I'm torn between the Ruger American Predator 18" and the Savage 10 20". Really like the Magpul Hunter stock and that the Ruger takes Magpul mags. Which would be better for first rifle?

Sergeant of the Hide

For an out of the box value rifle that you don't plan on really building on, I'd get the ruger. I don't like salvages. Looking to pick up a ruger American ranch in 5.56 that takes AR mags soon for a beater gun.

Low-speed High-drag

I’d opt Ruger. A couple of things; the American Rifle Predator goes really nicely in a Magpul Hunter stock. I think the bolt design is an overall nicer feel once it is broken in. My GF has one (in a Magpul stock) she regularly shoots to 1000y and I have friends who run Savages, so this is opinion having worked on and shot both.

Sergeant of the Hide

I like both options (and opted for Savage last year) and as stated upstream it depends. if you wanna buy it and run with it stock right out of the box get the Ruger. If yer gonna "build" and customize I'd look at Savage very hard before you get talked out of it by people who hate Savage just because they are Savages.

My Nephew is running a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 CM and likes my Savage 10 FCP-SR in a MDT chassis better *but* then again his is stock (right out of the box) and I have about $2K in my Savage including scope.

Sergeant of the Hide

OP it sounds like your mind's already made. My .02 is that it boils down to how comfortable/willing you are with taking a gun apart and working on it yourself. I own a lot of Savages, but I love to tinker and take every single one of them home from the LGS expecting to have it completely disassembled at least a couple times. If you're not big into DIY, go for the Ruger.

RAP's going to cost less as well, which you can then use the difference in $$$ to put towards glass or, even better, ammo.
Either way both are a solid choice to get your feet wet. If you can find someone local that has both buy them lunch and go out to the range to see what feels best to you.

Sergeant

I have two Ruger American rifles. One is a Preditor in 243 and the other is a Ranch in 223. Both are extremely accurate. I did put them both in MDT chassis but they were still pretty accurate before. I actually have my 223 listed in the PX for sale because I find I just don’t shoot it but is a great light weight trainer or truck gun.

Sergeant of the Hide

Howa. If you want a price point rifle to start with always pick Howa. Grab a barreled action from Brownells, drop it in whatever you want and shoot the lights out. Better fit and finish, smoother, better design.

New Hide Member

Thanks everyone for the replies. I went with the 18" Savage 10 PT-SR. Couldn't beat the sub $400 price. I received my Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP along with Vortex Precision rings earlier this week and will get it mounted up this weekend.

Now my decision is to go with a Choate Tactical stock or save up a little more and find a chassis system I like. I'd like to stay around the $500-600 range on a chassis. The Savage is the bottom bolt release DBM model.

Sergeant of the Hide

Savage and MDT go together like burgers and buns. I think you'll be pretty thrilled with yer budget build based on a Savage Action. I made all the same decisions about a year ago and ended up with a Savage 10 FCP-SR 24" barrel and have never felt like I made a mistake.

Congrats on sorting it out. Lots of great choices now days and it's really hard to sift thru all the stuff.

Sergeant of the Hide

I think it's largely a preference thing. The thing I love about a chassis is that you can play with grips, angles, buttstocks, etc. until you fine tune it. Most chassis can use AR accessories so the types and lengths as well as functionality of all those things can be basically bolted onto the chassis.

I settled on an MDT chassis but used an XLR Extreme buttstock and love the adjust ability of that. I chose an Ergo Suregrip for my grip but could just as easily bolt on any one of literally dozens of different grips in minutes. I like the modularity of a chassis *but* I'm not a competitive shooter either. I think the demands of the disciplines you intend to engage in will make demands of their own in terms of a stock vs a chassis and what kind.

Resident Elder Fart

My accuracy requirements are not that crucial. If I can get an honest 1MOA at 100yd with factory match ammo (like IMI 308 168 Auto Match, which I can), I'm golden. I can see the appeals behind a chassis, but it's an improvement that I can do without and still meet my goals.

Very affordable, and still capable of meeting my goals. The 11VT's were purchased from Dick's before they took that abrupt left turn; these days, I'm not recommending buying anything from Dick's. Rifles like the Cabelas Savage 10T are comparable, but may require a different model of the Choate stock.

Private

I've shot both (Savage model 10/12 and Ruger American Predator) and they both shoot great with factory ammo.

This is a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor at 400 yards using factory Hornady Match 140 ELD-M, and the target is a standard NRA B-8 meaning the X-ring is 1.695 inches. The group is somewhere between 1.5-2", and regardless that's plenty good at 400 yards with factory ammo from a sub-$500 rifle.

This one is a Savage 12FV in 6.5 Creedmoor with factory Hornady American Gunner ammo, also at 400 yards. This one I was especially happy with considering the rifle was about $280 all-in after adding a 20 MOA scope rail, and it was using the cheapest regularly available 6.5 Creedmoor ammo of the time.

It's hard to go wrong with either, but it really just boils down to if you plan to upgrade down the road. If you want to upgrade bits and pieces, the Savage will have more aftermarket options than the Ruger. If you want to run it as is, buy the RAP with an AICS mag bottom metal and don't look back.

Sergeant of the Hide

Thanks everyone for the replies. I went with the 18" Savage 10 PT-SR. Couldn't beat the sub $400 price. I received my Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP along with Vortex Precision rings earlier this week and will get it mounted up this weekend.

Now my decision is to go with a Choate Tactical stock or save up a little more and find a chassis system I like. I'd like to stay around the $500-600 range on a chassis. The Savage is the bottom bolt release DBM model.

Sergeant

I had a Savage 10fv in 308 and put it in a Choate stock. It was HEAVY. I wasn’t very happy with the rifle due to the weight and ergonomics of the stock. Instead of buying another stock I sold the rifle and bought a Remington 700 and put it in a chassis. Selling the rifle had nothing to do with it’s accuracy however. The rifle was as accurate as many custom rifles I have shot. I simply decided to go with the 700 due to the aftermarket support.

New Hide Member

Buying first bolt gun in .308 and I'm torn between the Ruger American Predator 18" and the Savage 10 20". Really like the Magpul Hunter stock and that the Ruger takes Magpul mags. Which would be better for first rifle?

Several months ago, I bought a Savage 110 Tactical in .308 with the 24" barrel. It also takes Magpul mags. It shoots really good. Longest shot on a coyote to date was 650 yds give or take using a 175 gr Sierra Match King. I like the accufit stock system and the trigger is great. But, I've got a variety of other guns that perform well also. I've had to spend extra money on them over the years to do what the Savage does now. It all depends what you are looking to do with the gun.